FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2018, file photo, part of President Donald Trump's 160-page budget summary for fiscal year 2019 that deals with the Environmental Protection Agency and that mentions the term "Climate Change" is photographed in Washington. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam on Monday, March 12, 2018, ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete the designations by the end of April. The term "Climate Change" is only mentioned once in the name of a science program marked for elimination at the EPA. less

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2018, file photo, part of President Donald Trump's 160-page budget summary for fiscal year 2019 that deals with the Environmental Protection Agency and that mentions the term "Climate ... more

Photo: Jon Elswick, AP

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FILE - In this June 1, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt after speaking about the U.S. role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. A federal judge says the Trump administration violated federal law when it failed to meet a deadline to identify all parts of the country with dangerous smog levels. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam on Monday, March 12, 2018, ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete the designations by the end of April. less

FILE - In this June 1, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt after speaking about the U.S. role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden of the ... more

Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP

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FILE - In this April 28, 2009 file photo, smog covers downtown Los Angeles. Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, that California is among fourteen states and the District of Columbia that are suing the Trump administration over what they say is a failure to enforce smog standards. A federal judge says the Trump administration violated federal law when it failed to meet a deadline to identify all parts of the country with dangerous smog levels. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam on Monday, March 12, 2018, ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete the designations by the end of April. less

FILE - In this April 28, 2009 file photo, smog covers downtown Los Angeles. Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, that California is among fourteen states and the District of ... more

Photo: Nick Ut, AP

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FILE - In this March 28, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump, accompanied by from left, Vice President Mike Pence, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, speaks at EPA headquarters in Washington, prior to signing an Energy Independence Executive Order. A federal judge says the Trump administration violated federal law when it failed to meet a deadline to identify all parts of the country with dangerous smog levels. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam on Monday, March 12, 2018, ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete the designations by the end of April. less

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration violated federal law when it failed to meet a deadline to identify all parts of the U.S. that don't meet air quality standards for smog, a federal judge ruled on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete the designations by the end of April.

His ruling was for two lawsuits, including one filed by California, 13 other states and the District of Columbia.

The EPA had until October 1, 2017, to designate what parts of the country were in and out of compliance with tougher smog standards adopted during the Obama administration.

The states' lawsuit said smog can cause or aggravate diseases including heart disease, bronchitis and emphysema, and the new standards would save hundreds of lives each year.

The designations trigger a process that forces polluted regions to take steps to improve air quality.

An email for comment sent to the U.S. Department of Justice was not immediately returned.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Monday that the state will "closely monitor" the EPA to make sure it meets the court's order.

"We stand ready to do what's necessary to ensure that the EPA does not shirk its legal responsibilities," he said.

The EPA acknowledged that it violated the Clean Air Act by failing to issue the air quality designations by the October 1 deadline, but said it was moving fast and would complete the process no later than April 30, according to Gilliam's ruling.

Gilliam rejected the states' request that the EPA move faster on some designations and make all designations effective immediately.

Becerra and Democratic officials in other states have repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration over the its push to loosen environmental regulations.

Becerra was joined in the smog suit by the attorneys general in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state. Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency also joined the suit.